Sooo, promised an update on my new projects! Well I don't have any pictures (I know, shame shame), but here is the back story!
They belong to a private school for boys with ADD/ADHD and/or behavior problems. I found them by responding to an ad on my college job board for "volunteer horse training and maintenance." Called because I couldn't imagine anyone just posting a random ad for such things, and because I couldn't imagine anyone else picking them up as a project at this time of the semester. Then discovered that there were three babies--and I mean baby babies, the oldest is barely three, the youngest right about a yearling--two of which were (still are, but for a limited time!) stud colts. And there's nobody there who knows anything about horses period, let alone baby horses. Woowweee, fun fun fun.
So a week ago Sunday was my "eval" trip, to see if I thought I could handle this or if it was quite beyond me. Turns out there is one kid at the school that knows a little bit about horses in general and has been working with them. Mostly consisting of giving them treats and petting them and getting them used to halters/picking up feet/etc. Not a bad start, except that now they have NO concept of staying out of one's personal space, or doing anything else in fact except eating. The filly (oldest and most definitely the boss) will tie and lead (sort of, except when she doesn't) and usually deal with having her face pulled into all kinds of contortions with the halter and lead-rope-reins (again, except when she doesn't), but the colts won't do much unless the others are nearby, and don't do a whole lot even then.
But none of them are dangerous, so I said sure, I'll come up once a month or so and help you as long as the boys are gelded and someone's willing to work with them when I'm not there. Will be interesting! I won't be getting anywhere unless this kid, J, and his friend are willing to join in and do the footwork, so we'll see. First day we worked on moving off pressure and handling scary things appropriately. Now we are taking some video of River so they can understand what is supposed to be and to help them remember somewhat of how to get there. Though the Beast isn't perfect, he's pretty good these days, and demonstrates the need for all these skills quite well--nothing like getting run over by a 1200-lb. critter to convince you that your horse does need to learn to move when you tell him to...
He is not impressed by the videoing--thinks it's eternally boring. Lol. I did get his feet trimmed this week, though, and he is sounder than ever before, even on the little (quarter- to half-inch) gravel. Woot!
Showing posts with label 7 Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 7 Games. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Crazy
Crazy crazy week! I rode a grand total of once this week, went out to see the Buddy every night though. His back seems a bit sore so perhaps it's just as well I didn't ride too much. I'm worried the saddle might be making him sore but it's not like he's being ridden a whole lot, so perhaps it's just that he's missing his massages or maybe he tweaked it in the pasture...guess we'll see.
Anyway, rundown of the Week in Horses, bullet-point form (more to come later, I hope!):
- Sunday: Went and did an eval visit on three new project babies (YAY Arab babies!) that I've taken on as a volunteer job
- Monday: Fed pony, not much else as I had an evening appointment. Sent off my Christmas wish list to whoever-wants-to-buy-me-stuff. :D
- Tuesday: Fed pony again, again not much else because of evening appointment.
- Wednesday: Lunged to try out a new riding spot, and rode in the arena. Discovered the footing in said arena is now nearly irreparably nasty. So much for that.
- Thursday: River and I had our film debut!...or something. Groundwork video project begins (more on that later). We discovered River is not the most photogenic beast when it comes to standing still for the video camera, haha.
- Today: Fed, not much else--another evening appointment!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Second Day
I gave River Saturday off to adjust to the herd and hopefully calm down some. So I headed over again this afternoon before my turn to feed.
The friend who had recommended the barn to me was already there, so I went and caught the boy and brought him in. He called a lot but I had him in the rope halter so he didn't lean on it so much, and he seemed a bit more relaxed. Brought him in and put him in a stall hoping he'd calm down since theoretically he was more used to that. But he just started pacing. So I went and got his grain and fed him, then brought him out and tied him up next to my friend's horse.
Eventually he calmed right down and was very nice. He licked and chewed a LOT, yawned and yawned, and generally let go of a lot of stress. We followed my friend out and hung around while she started teaching a lesson, and I started teaching River the Parelli 7 Games.
Wow. That is all I have to say.
This horse is SO SMART!
Friendly (desensitizing)--no worries. Porcupine (direct pressure)--yup, got that. Driving (suggestion of pressure)--oh that's the same thing, sure. Circling--okay, great. The only thing we had a problem with was Yo-Yo (backing up and coming forward). He backs fine off pressure, but not off wiggling the lead rope. We'll work on it. I didn't do Squeeze or Sideways because the only fences we had to work on were electric and I didn't want him or me getting shocked!
I feel like I "taught" him nothing. Lol! Either someone else has taught him all this, and done an amazing job (unlikely), or the horse is just crazy smart. It did really help him start using his mind and calm down, though. Eventually we moved away from my friend and her horse and worked on our own where he couldn't see anyone. He called some, then settled down. I put him to work whenever he got antsy, and when he calmed down I told him "Okay" and encouraged him to graze. Pretty soon he was very chill except for the flies--I took him inside the barn and although there was nobody around, he calmed down and let me finish grooming him and everything with no fuss.
He did throw both front shoes sometime between Friday and today. Ugh. But I'm not surprised--it would be a miracle if any shoes stayed on in that pasture. Nice as it is, there are some very muddy spots. It didn't mess up his feet much though, so I weighed my options and turned him back out with plans of calling the farrier ASAP. I think he'll do less damage to himself in the pasture than pacing and being worried in his stall.
The friend who had recommended the barn to me was already there, so I went and caught the boy and brought him in. He called a lot but I had him in the rope halter so he didn't lean on it so much, and he seemed a bit more relaxed. Brought him in and put him in a stall hoping he'd calm down since theoretically he was more used to that. But he just started pacing. So I went and got his grain and fed him, then brought him out and tied him up next to my friend's horse.
Eventually he calmed right down and was very nice. He licked and chewed a LOT, yawned and yawned, and generally let go of a lot of stress. We followed my friend out and hung around while she started teaching a lesson, and I started teaching River the Parelli 7 Games.
Wow. That is all I have to say.
This horse is SO SMART!
Friendly (desensitizing)--no worries. Porcupine (direct pressure)--yup, got that. Driving (suggestion of pressure)--oh that's the same thing, sure. Circling--okay, great. The only thing we had a problem with was Yo-Yo (backing up and coming forward). He backs fine off pressure, but not off wiggling the lead rope. We'll work on it. I didn't do Squeeze or Sideways because the only fences we had to work on were electric and I didn't want him or me getting shocked!
I feel like I "taught" him nothing. Lol! Either someone else has taught him all this, and done an amazing job (unlikely), or the horse is just crazy smart. It did really help him start using his mind and calm down, though. Eventually we moved away from my friend and her horse and worked on our own where he couldn't see anyone. He called some, then settled down. I put him to work whenever he got antsy, and when he calmed down I told him "Okay" and encouraged him to graze. Pretty soon he was very chill except for the flies--I took him inside the barn and although there was nobody around, he calmed down and let me finish grooming him and everything with no fuss.
He did throw both front shoes sometime between Friday and today. Ugh. But I'm not surprised--it would be a miracle if any shoes stayed on in that pasture. Nice as it is, there are some very muddy spots. It didn't mess up his feet much though, so I weighed my options and turned him back out with plans of calling the farrier ASAP. I think he'll do less damage to himself in the pasture than pacing and being worried in his stall.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Rhapsody Is a Superstar!
Annnd if Blogger will cooperate I took pictures! :)
It's spring break and I have gotten permission to ride pretty much whenever I want, so I headed out early this afternoon to ride or work as many ponies as I could find.
Spring is in the air and the trees are flowering even though it was snowing over the weekend. Lol. Today it was nice and warm and partly sunny though--really felt like spring!
The barn cats got all excited when they saw my car, and as soon as I got out they came trotting over and proceeded to get thoroughly jealous of each other despite the fact that I was petting both of them at the same time! Gotta love the felines... :P
This is a rather bad picture of the girls; they never like to put their ears up at the same time! Rhapsody is far left and Surge on the right. Rhapsody got all prick-eared when she saw me coming to the pasture and headed right over to me, along with Cairo and Surge, yay! I was careful to pet her and "ask" before I haltered her, and she was quite easy to catch today. Surge too, though I don't have to ask her opinion on much...I already know it usually. Lol. I also caught Fringe, mostly to clean her up and make sure her rain rot doesn't recur.
Grooming time was fun! I ended up with dust all over my eyes, in my nose, and a "dust mustache" on my lip! Ahh springtime. You can see in this picture that Rhapsody was still dusty even after a thorough grooming. And they are all starting to shed!
I took Rhapsody out first since I wanted to have time to do groundwork and ride her. This is my new cheapo rope halter. I wanted to get a picture of how nice the green looks on her, but it was a bit hard as she was being "Velcro pony" and wouldn't get far enough away for me to take a picture!
Our groundwork was great and the ride even better! I took a very light contact (usually I keep a fairly firm hold on her mouth) and stuck a couple fingers in the martingale strap for the sake of hanging on, and she walked round like a trooper, not getting worried or startled except when we unexpectedly came upon a tire sitting in the middle of our path. But that startled me a bit too. I hopped off and we worked with it on the ground, and soon she decided it wasn't to be bothered about.
There was also a new mare in the quarantine pasture running round, screaming from time to time, and acting like a nut. This is of course always somewhat worrying, but to Rhapsody in the past it would've been cause for an all-out nervous breakdown. She was still looky and a bit worried, but listened well and paid attention even so. We did a lot of walk, a fair bit of trot, and some big patterns--circles and figure 8's. Patterns seem to help her relax and start thinking. There were several moments where she really seemed to tune in and begin to "read my mind" as I would think about a move and she would begin it before I thought I'd given any cues! I asked for a little canter at the end, and for once she didn't want to canter! She seemed stiff and didn't get into her usual rhythm at canter, so I didn't push it. We ended with some more walk, pets, and I told her what a good girl she was. Very, very pleased with today!
I did some groundwork with Surge--she still seemed a tiny bit sore and, unlike her buddy, was extremely worried about the new mare--and took all the girls back out. So proud of Rhapsody today! She will get a day off tomorrow, groundwork Wednesday, and hopefully another ride on Friday. Surge will get the week off till Friday, and I'll try to ride Brandi and Fringe on Wednesday. We'll see how that goes!
It's spring break and I have gotten permission to ride pretty much whenever I want, so I headed out early this afternoon to ride or work as many ponies as I could find.
Spring is in the air and the trees are flowering even though it was snowing over the weekend. Lol. Today it was nice and warm and partly sunny though--really felt like spring!
The barn cats got all excited when they saw my car, and as soon as I got out they came trotting over and proceeded to get thoroughly jealous of each other despite the fact that I was petting both of them at the same time! Gotta love the felines... :P
This is Rafik (well I think that's his name). I call him Rocky. He lives in one of the pastures on the way down to Rhapsody's field. Isn't he the cutest thing? He wanted to investigate my camera. :) I would take him as a project horse in a heartbeat except that he's owned by a boarder who probably doesn't even know I exist!
Our groundwork was great and the ride even better! I took a very light contact (usually I keep a fairly firm hold on her mouth) and stuck a couple fingers in the martingale strap for the sake of hanging on, and she walked round like a trooper, not getting worried or startled except when we unexpectedly came upon a tire sitting in the middle of our path. But that startled me a bit too. I hopped off and we worked with it on the ground, and soon she decided it wasn't to be bothered about.
There was also a new mare in the quarantine pasture running round, screaming from time to time, and acting like a nut. This is of course always somewhat worrying, but to Rhapsody in the past it would've been cause for an all-out nervous breakdown. She was still looky and a bit worried, but listened well and paid attention even so. We did a lot of walk, a fair bit of trot, and some big patterns--circles and figure 8's. Patterns seem to help her relax and start thinking. There were several moments where she really seemed to tune in and begin to "read my mind" as I would think about a move and she would begin it before I thought I'd given any cues! I asked for a little canter at the end, and for once she didn't want to canter! She seemed stiff and didn't get into her usual rhythm at canter, so I didn't push it. We ended with some more walk, pets, and I told her what a good girl she was. Very, very pleased with today!
I did some groundwork with Surge--she still seemed a tiny bit sore and, unlike her buddy, was extremely worried about the new mare--and took all the girls back out. So proud of Rhapsody today! She will get a day off tomorrow, groundwork Wednesday, and hopefully another ride on Friday. Surge will get the week off till Friday, and I'll try to ride Brandi and Fringe on Wednesday. We'll see how that goes!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Learning to Listen...Again!
Well
I tried to post earlier today but Blogger was being weird so I gave up. This time I'll leave off all the nice entertaining photos and maybe it'll be better! This is a long post by the way, and no photos because of Blogger's stupidness. Sad. ;(
I
think Rhapsody deserves a better trainer than yours truly. Lol. However she is
a very good human-trainer in her own right; I guess we all need the horses that
teach us things!
I went out to the barn on Friday and after a little go-round (Rhapsody is still by no means an easy catch) got both Rhapsody and Surge and headed up to the barn. Well it wasn't that easy. We met the Pony-Eating Gator of Death on the way.
- I was still rather tense and emotionally upset from some happenings earlier in the day.
- Rhapsody despises any kind of pressure, including goal-oriented, high-energy focus that doesn't take her worries into consideration. She's getting much better with this, but I still need to be careful. I know this, but I forgot big-time.
So
the whole time I was tacking up I got this sort of look from Rhapsody:
I
was not smart enough to listen however. But then I had my second belated
realization--there was nobody around. Now I may be stupid but I'm
not so stupid as to trail ride this horse to the back 40 when no one's in
sight. So I pulled off all the tack and decided to do something else. Rhapsody,
however, staged a passive revolt. I returned to the stall and what do I see but that she has turned straight around and all I can see is her rear end!
She
wasn't eating, wasn't looking out the window--she had her head in the corner
and her hiney to me and her whole posture and ear set said plain as could be,
"You are being a tense, obnoxious idiot and I refuse to have
anything to do with you!"
Oops.
I
coerced her out from the corner with the promise of grain and decided to have a
relaxed day. We went out to the arena, did some catching work (with grain
treats), and played with the rope around her neck and shoulders--she was
starting to get spooky of it again, ugh. Went well, but not much relaxation on
her part, though she seemed to have forgiven me at least to a degree.
Then
I decided I needed some horse cuddles. Rhapsody is not the usual sort of horse
you cuddle with, but she was what I had, so I started scratching her neck and
then rested my face against her neck and relaxed, breathed, and tried to
"feel" where she was at mentally.
Almost
right off she started licking and chewing--and kept it up for a long
time! Then she yawned and yawned and yawned, and licked and chewed some more,
and yawned some more, and chewed, and dropped her head way down so that
my head was almost on top of her neck! She relaxed her posture, curved her head
and neck in toward me a little, and just stayed there. I was astonished to say
the least, as I hadn't asked her to do any of this and in fact hadn't even been
sure whether she would stand still for me to get that up-close-and-personal
with her. We stayed there for a bit, until I stood up and thanked her; then she
started grazing. She never, ever grazes in the arena or with a halter
and lead on! I just relaxed and we stood there a while until I got cold and she
got distracted; then we headed back up to the barn and Surge.
A
very sweet experience though, and reminded me that I have to listen to
this horse. She will not take it otherwise. However, that's just what makes her
such a good teacher!
Well
congratulations to anyone making it to the end of this great epistle. On
another note, anybody know anything about endurance? It sounds fun and like a
good low-key experience to me, and I think Rhapsody would be good at it, so I'm
looking into it but can't find much. Any comments or ideas are welcome! :)
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Wild-ish Ride
So on Friday I went and rode. :) Just Rhapsody because I wanted to do catching groundwork with her as well as riding, and that takes longer. I was super pleased with her catch in the field! She comes right up to me now and isn't shy at all about barging right in with Surge and her big paint gelding boyfriend to get her treat.
Then we had a great groundwork session. Took off her halter and everything and did some catching work. The first couple times I sent her away, she went off in a feisty Arab-y trot, head all arched up, snorting at everything, tail flagged--it was actually kind of cute, lol. I let her go and after a while backed up to ask her to come in and she came right away and let me put the rope around her neck without any fuss! She did that a couple times and then decided it wasn't worth it to leave! I would send her and she'd go a couple yards off, spin around, and ask to come in. Goosey. :) However I don't mind that at the moment. I really would like to take the catch halter off--it's rubbing her face and making the rain rot on her poll 10 times worse--and I really think I could with no problems, but I'm going to wait till after the farrier comes next Friday. She really, really needs her feet done--hasn't had them trimmed or even looked at since September or October at least--and I don't want to take any chances. Though I'm 95% sure I can catch her without a halter on, I'm not sure if Coach wants to yet!
I also did some Friendly game (desensitization) at liberty and some Porcupine (direct pressure) and Driving ("air" pressure) games on-line. Next up is Yo-Yo (backing away and coming back in when asked) and then lungeing/Circling game. She doesn't understand lungeing very well at all, and I really want to get her lungeing well so I can maybe get some of her jellybeans out before I get on to ride!
However I don't have that option yet, so tacked her up and went out to ride. She was hot, hot, hot as she hadn't been ridden for a week and a half and the temperature was hovering around 34 degrees F (about 1 degree C). So she spooked majorly once at the jump blocks--her big spooks consist of a big "teleport" jump sideways, a 180-degree spin, and an attempted bolt, all in about half a second--and she very nearly unseated me; however I somehow stayed on and we went on to trot a lot to wear off the jitters at a faster pace. She spooks less when she's focused on moving forward. So we trotted and trotted and trotted--mostly very fast, but now and again more relaxed with a little bit of stretching!--and then cantered a couple times both ways of the arena. She was in full racing form and making me feel like a jockey with her out-of-the-gate style scooty canter transitions and breakneck speed! Lol! It was fun though. Kept me on my toes making sure she stayed forward and wasn't going to spook at anything in canter. :)
So a bit of a wild ride, but it was fun. Rhapsody really should get ridden 4-5 times a week at least, to keep her calmer and more relaxed. Sigh. If only we could...not even most of the lesson horses get ridden that much. If I was within bike distance, I'd go over more often, but with a 15-20 minute drive both ways, I can't afford the gas.
Pictures coming soon!
Then we had a great groundwork session. Took off her halter and everything and did some catching work. The first couple times I sent her away, she went off in a feisty Arab-y trot, head all arched up, snorting at everything, tail flagged--it was actually kind of cute, lol. I let her go and after a while backed up to ask her to come in and she came right away and let me put the rope around her neck without any fuss! She did that a couple times and then decided it wasn't worth it to leave! I would send her and she'd go a couple yards off, spin around, and ask to come in. Goosey. :) However I don't mind that at the moment. I really would like to take the catch halter off--it's rubbing her face and making the rain rot on her poll 10 times worse--and I really think I could with no problems, but I'm going to wait till after the farrier comes next Friday. She really, really needs her feet done--hasn't had them trimmed or even looked at since September or October at least--and I don't want to take any chances. Though I'm 95% sure I can catch her without a halter on, I'm not sure if Coach wants to yet!
I also did some Friendly game (desensitization) at liberty and some Porcupine (direct pressure) and Driving ("air" pressure) games on-line. Next up is Yo-Yo (backing away and coming back in when asked) and then lungeing/Circling game. She doesn't understand lungeing very well at all, and I really want to get her lungeing well so I can maybe get some of her jellybeans out before I get on to ride!
However I don't have that option yet, so tacked her up and went out to ride. She was hot, hot, hot as she hadn't been ridden for a week and a half and the temperature was hovering around 34 degrees F (about 1 degree C). So she spooked majorly once at the jump blocks--her big spooks consist of a big "teleport" jump sideways, a 180-degree spin, and an attempted bolt, all in about half a second--and she very nearly unseated me; however I somehow stayed on and we went on to trot a lot to wear off the jitters at a faster pace. She spooks less when she's focused on moving forward. So we trotted and trotted and trotted--mostly very fast, but now and again more relaxed with a little bit of stretching!--and then cantered a couple times both ways of the arena. She was in full racing form and making me feel like a jockey with her out-of-the-gate style scooty canter transitions and breakneck speed! Lol! It was fun though. Kept me on my toes making sure she stayed forward and wasn't going to spook at anything in canter. :)
So a bit of a wild ride, but it was fun. Rhapsody really should get ridden 4-5 times a week at least, to keep her calmer and more relaxed. Sigh. If only we could...not even most of the lesson horses get ridden that much. If I was within bike distance, I'd go over more often, but with a 15-20 minute drive both ways, I can't afford the gas.
Pictures coming soon!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Brandi Ride
Well it is official that Brandi is now the greenest horse I've ever ridden. ;) If Fringe was green, then Rhapsody is very green, and Brandi is pretty much barely started. Haha!
She'd been so good last time I rode, so I caught her on Friday, did some groundwork, and then went and rode. For the first little bit, we did walk both directions and she was great. But when I asked for the trot, she started bobbing her head and throwing it around. So not wanting to get tossed, I hopped off, put her on the lunge, and trotted her up on that. No lameness, a little nervous but she went both ways fine. Got back on and the same problem. Finally I got her to trot tracking right (always the racehorses' better direction) but tracking left she was still throwing fits. Coach helped me out a bit once she came down but it still wasn't easy. And there were lessons going on and little kids riding so it just wasn't a good place to school a baby. Eventually I decided to just get off and walk her out and try again another day when things were quieter.
I'm not really frustrated with her, though; I think she just doesn't understand. Coach agrees with me, so I think we are pretty close to right then. ;) Didn't help that the arena was busy--unusual for a Friday afternoon--and every time we saw a horse going the opposite direction, Brandi pretty much put on a what in the WORLD is THAT?!?! face and stopped dead. Lol. Last time I rode her with nobody else in the arena, but this time there was always someone with us. She's not used to that, and Friday showed me that she's not really solid on her cues for the different gaits, either. That's okay, but I'll just have to be more careful to enable her to be successful. Next time I'm going to ride her when it's quiet and just school walk/halt transitions until she's solid there before I ask her for trot. She freezes when she's nervous or doesn't understand, so I'll just have to be very clear and patient with her. We'll get there soon; she's very smart, curious, and playful, so it won't take long. Overall I still really like her. :)
On other news, I went down to give Rhapsody an apple and a scratch, and she came up to me! Also when I grabbed her catch halter she didn't jump like she did last time. I think I'm going to start acting as if I'm catching her without a halter when I go get her, so as hopefully to get her used to it. In addition to our catching groundwork, of course.
She'd been so good last time I rode, so I caught her on Friday, did some groundwork, and then went and rode. For the first little bit, we did walk both directions and she was great. But when I asked for the trot, she started bobbing her head and throwing it around. So not wanting to get tossed, I hopped off, put her on the lunge, and trotted her up on that. No lameness, a little nervous but she went both ways fine. Got back on and the same problem. Finally I got her to trot tracking right (always the racehorses' better direction) but tracking left she was still throwing fits. Coach helped me out a bit once she came down but it still wasn't easy. And there were lessons going on and little kids riding so it just wasn't a good place to school a baby. Eventually I decided to just get off and walk her out and try again another day when things were quieter.
I'm not really frustrated with her, though; I think she just doesn't understand. Coach agrees with me, so I think we are pretty close to right then. ;) Didn't help that the arena was busy--unusual for a Friday afternoon--and every time we saw a horse going the opposite direction, Brandi pretty much put on a what in the WORLD is THAT?!?! face and stopped dead. Lol. Last time I rode her with nobody else in the arena, but this time there was always someone with us. She's not used to that, and Friday showed me that she's not really solid on her cues for the different gaits, either. That's okay, but I'll just have to be more careful to enable her to be successful. Next time I'm going to ride her when it's quiet and just school walk/halt transitions until she's solid there before I ask her for trot. She freezes when she's nervous or doesn't understand, so I'll just have to be very clear and patient with her. We'll get there soon; she's very smart, curious, and playful, so it won't take long. Overall I still really like her. :)
On other news, I went down to give Rhapsody an apple and a scratch, and she came up to me! Also when I grabbed her catch halter she didn't jump like she did last time. I think I'm going to start acting as if I'm catching her without a halter when I go get her, so as hopefully to get her used to it. In addition to our catching groundwork, of course.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Rhapsody Week
This last week of break I am designating as my "Rhapsody week" and though I can't really be out there every day (sigh), I'm at least managing to work her three days this week. So far we are doing really really well!
I went early to lesson on Monday and found Coach had already brought her in (and was quite pleased with herself for doing it too, I must add, lol!). So instead of trekking 3/4 mile out to the Back of Nowhere pasture where Rhapsody currently lives, I worked her in a groundwork clinic Coach was putting on. A lot of it was stuff I already knew, but it was nice to have more experienced eyes watching me, and I did learn some new things too. Then I tacked her up and rode her for my lesson so that if she showed any inclination to do "funny" things, we'd be able to catch them before I'm on my own. She was rather skittery under saddle, but no major spooks. We rode walk/trot/canter and even trotted over some ground poles and a little tiny half-crossrail, which she did quite well on considering that she used to trip all over anything on the ground. Also I got to ride Lucky for one jump, and another girl's new horse, Will, for one jump. Hehe I think Coach felt she needed to get me over a jump at least a couple times during the lesson! ;) It was fun anyway.
Then today I went back over and caught her myself, after a rather wild time trying to chase off the superbly obnoxious and rather large gelding-that-acts-like-a-stallion that also resides in the Back of Nowhere. But despite all that she actually came running over to me when I came in! And she didn't take off for the far corners of the earth when I was chasing Mr. Obnoxious. Instead I was able to catch her fairly easily and then she followed me happily nearly half the way up to the barn--until the mares came galloping out into their field alongside us and got her all hyper and spooky. Oh well. We went up to the barn without any mishap and then I worked her alongside the clinic students again. This time they were really only doing things we'd already worked on, so I worked with her on lowering her head when I asked, accepting the rope just behind her ears, and lowering her head off light rope pressure behind her ears. I hope that will help her with haltering; I guess we'll see. Overall though I was extremely happy with how calm and responsive she was today. Very nice day of work!
Well my camera battery is dead so no pictures. Eh I'm going to try and get some more batteries because picture-less posts are boring. Lol. Until next time!
I went early to lesson on Monday and found Coach had already brought her in (and was quite pleased with herself for doing it too, I must add, lol!). So instead of trekking 3/4 mile out to the Back of Nowhere pasture where Rhapsody currently lives, I worked her in a groundwork clinic Coach was putting on. A lot of it was stuff I already knew, but it was nice to have more experienced eyes watching me, and I did learn some new things too. Then I tacked her up and rode her for my lesson so that if she showed any inclination to do "funny" things, we'd be able to catch them before I'm on my own. She was rather skittery under saddle, but no major spooks. We rode walk/trot/canter and even trotted over some ground poles and a little tiny half-crossrail, which she did quite well on considering that she used to trip all over anything on the ground. Also I got to ride Lucky for one jump, and another girl's new horse, Will, for one jump. Hehe I think Coach felt she needed to get me over a jump at least a couple times during the lesson! ;) It was fun anyway.
Then today I went back over and caught her myself, after a rather wild time trying to chase off the superbly obnoxious and rather large gelding-that-acts-like-a-stallion that also resides in the Back of Nowhere. But despite all that she actually came running over to me when I came in! And she didn't take off for the far corners of the earth when I was chasing Mr. Obnoxious. Instead I was able to catch her fairly easily and then she followed me happily nearly half the way up to the barn--until the mares came galloping out into their field alongside us and got her all hyper and spooky. Oh well. We went up to the barn without any mishap and then I worked her alongside the clinic students again. This time they were really only doing things we'd already worked on, so I worked with her on lowering her head when I asked, accepting the rope just behind her ears, and lowering her head off light rope pressure behind her ears. I hope that will help her with haltering; I guess we'll see. Overall though I was extremely happy with how calm and responsive she was today. Very nice day of work!
Well my camera battery is dead so no pictures. Eh I'm going to try and get some more batteries because picture-less posts are boring. Lol. Until next time!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Another Project :)
Just can't get enough of them I guess...but at least this one's catchable!
Coach asked me to work Brandy (?? think that's her name??), a little mare just back from the track. Well, back from training anyway--apparently she did poorly enough in training that they flunked her before she even hit the track proper. Lol. Checked with the other instructor, D, just to make sure (since Brandy's officially the project horse of the barn's "junior instructor," J), and she was all for it too. So it appears that since J is in college and has no time, while I'm in college and create time whether I have it or no, I have myself another of J's project ponies. (Rhapsody was also hers before I came along.) :) Here's a picture of Brandy from last time I went out to the mares' pasture...
She's pretty cute, her forelock is all fuzzy like an afro. Lol. Also she has brakes like nothing else. It's crazy. I close my knees and bam she's stopped. That took a bit of getting used to, and she's also a bit slow off my leg. Also I had a terrible time getting her to sustain a canter. She'd pick it up but break within two or three strides. Plus she basically doesn't move off pressure (a pet peeve of mine and probably doesn't help the canter issue), she doesn't understand anything about staying on the rail of the arena, she doesn't move off the leg or bend to the rein, and she will not stand still for mounting--I had to kind of jump on midair as she was walking off, since nobody was around to hold her. Sooo we have plenty to work on. :) I rode her a bit on Friday before going and working with Rhapsody.
I'm getting a catch halter on Rhapsody. Generally I try not to spend money on my project horses, since they aren't mine anyway, but I will buy a catch halter for that horse if I'm to do anything with her! I'm at the point now where I will do whatever it takes, talk to whoever I have to talk to, get all my friends out to the back field to hold her in a corner while I get her, but she is getting a halter on. Ha. I'm tired of playing games; I've got her coming to me and I've got her trusting me fairly well. She's just spooky of the rope, but I can't desensitize her unless I can keep her in reach. So that is Major Project #2 for Christmas break. :) If I can start second semester with two catchable project horses, I will be a very happy chica. Lol.
Oh! and finals are DONE!! YAY!! I can have a sort of life for the next couple weeks! :D
Coach asked me to work Brandy (?? think that's her name??), a little mare just back from the track. Well, back from training anyway--apparently she did poorly enough in training that they flunked her before she even hit the track proper. Lol. Checked with the other instructor, D, just to make sure (since Brandy's officially the project horse of the barn's "junior instructor," J), and she was all for it too. So it appears that since J is in college and has no time, while I'm in college and create time whether I have it or no, I have myself another of J's project ponies. (Rhapsody was also hers before I came along.) :) Here's a picture of Brandy from last time I went out to the mares' pasture...
She's pretty cute, her forelock is all fuzzy like an afro. Lol. Also she has brakes like nothing else. It's crazy. I close my knees and bam she's stopped. That took a bit of getting used to, and she's also a bit slow off my leg. Also I had a terrible time getting her to sustain a canter. She'd pick it up but break within two or three strides. Plus she basically doesn't move off pressure (a pet peeve of mine and probably doesn't help the canter issue), she doesn't understand anything about staying on the rail of the arena, she doesn't move off the leg or bend to the rein, and she will not stand still for mounting--I had to kind of jump on midair as she was walking off, since nobody was around to hold her. Sooo we have plenty to work on. :) I rode her a bit on Friday before going and working with Rhapsody.
I'm getting a catch halter on Rhapsody. Generally I try not to spend money on my project horses, since they aren't mine anyway, but I will buy a catch halter for that horse if I'm to do anything with her! I'm at the point now where I will do whatever it takes, talk to whoever I have to talk to, get all my friends out to the back field to hold her in a corner while I get her, but she is getting a halter on. Ha. I'm tired of playing games; I've got her coming to me and I've got her trusting me fairly well. She's just spooky of the rope, but I can't desensitize her unless I can keep her in reach. So that is Major Project #2 for Christmas break. :) If I can start second semester with two catchable project horses, I will be a very happy chica. Lol.
Oh! and finals are DONE!! YAY!! I can have a sort of life for the next couple weeks! :D
Sunday, November 18, 2012
In Which I Act Like an Idiot...
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| Girls in the field, L-R Lass, Baby, Rhapsody, Dora |
Rhapsody doesn't like to leave the pasture because she's super herd-bound.
Lass is easy to catch.
I'm supposed to ride Lass walk/trot for 20 minutes to start getting her back into work again after her lameness bout.
Why not catch Rhapsody (provided I can catch Rhapsody), then catch Lass, and take both of them up together?
Marvelous brilliance of me!
Or...something...Halfway down the mares' field with two halters, I thought better of myself.
Rhapsody is spooky. Lass is spooky (much better than R., but still).
They're both mares. They aren't friends any more.
All the other mares will find this fascinating and follow us forever.
Neither leads really really well. Rhapsody charges forwards/sideways. Lass just stops and pretends she can't move further.
Bri, you're an idiot!
Nonetheless, being a real idiot, I decided to try it anyway. And what do you know but it only took me half an hour to catch Rhapsody! And only one little trot chase; the rest of it was all walk and while she wasn't happy to have me halter her, she did let me do it. Woo hoo!! Our trip up to the barn was not too terribly eventful; I only have one rope-burned hand from where both girls suddenly spooked at the ever-evilly-present Invisible Monster while I was trying to fasten the gate behind us. And I got them both tucked away safely in their stalls without any serious injury to any party.
Now Coach did call as I was halfway to the barn (leading both horses, I might add). "You're at the barn?"
Say I: "Yeah..."
"Well I'm not going to be there this afternoon."
Me: "Ohhh.........."
"So just--just be careful."
Me: "Right. Yes. Absolutely. YES."
I was very happy to see another couple boarders show up toward the end of my groundwork session with Rhapsody. I'm not scared of either horse, and perfectly comfortable with Lass, but being all alone at the barn, with only Coach (who is a long ways away) and my family (whose car I have) knowing where I'm at...well it does inspire me to be careful. Ha!
Started working with Rhapsody on moving off "air pressure" (Driving game, for any Parelli people), in addition to desensitizing, bending, and direct pressure; and she did beautifully. Pressure is a bit stressful for her so I do just a little and then rub her for a while, rinse and repeat. She was much calmer today and I am beginning to teach her to halter/remove halter with her nose bent round toward me so she can't take off quite so frightfully. It seemed to help as I was letting her out.
Also Lass was going about 98.9% sound even on the footing. Happiness. Won't be long before we're jumping her again! :)
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Fringe & Rhapsody Work
So I put Fringe over a little jump again last lesson. She was being supremely lazy which didn't help matters; however I have been having difficulty managing my own energy levels, which doesn't help me much when I need to ride lazy horses! So we trotted over the baby jump many times and once or twice actually got a jump over it. Haha. Coach put her over once or twice and actually managed to get Fringe's feet off the ground both times.
Ay well I should rather that she be lazy than crazy spooky. Even got out the crop today and she wasn't much worried by it, at least on the shoulder. Behind my leg she was a little nervous but got over it quickly. After half an hour or so of jump practice, we pulled off her tack and I walked and trotted her around the arena bareback. And she was super good. She called a lot to the other horses but wasn't worried by the lack of a saddle at all. Impressive since she's only been ridden bareback once before this (early this past summer).
Then I went off to Rhapsody, who Coach had kept in but hadn't been able to work. She was a crazy nut having been inside all day, but after a long time of Friendly game in the round pen, she calmed down quite a bit. Then I worked a bit on moving off direct pressure--she is super sensitive to that; I hope we can make it a good thing--and bending to a stop. I like to teach all my "babies" to bend to a stop as I'm personally a pretty big fan of the one-rein stop. No, it's not perfect...but it can sure help!
So we did that a while but then kids started running around climbing trees and horses were going out to the fields and Rhapsody lost focus. So I went back to Friendly till she calmed a bit, then took her up to the barn, groomed her, and managed to get her out of the barn without killing anyone. Seriously, I need to come up with some good way to announce to everyone in hearing range that "I'm working with a crazy young horse right now, GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Ha. Maybe running over a couple people once or twice would help? Just kidding, I promise...
After that, Rhapsody was entirely un-calm. So the trip up to the field with Huge Dog (which I've never actually seen but it has a monstrous voice) barking behind the hedge, and the world nearly dark, and hyper pony trying to gallop down the way...was...interesting. But we didn't die nor did we get hurt. Then hyper pony decided to run off before I'd finished taking off the halter, which was also...interesting...however I got the sense to let go before she ripped my arms out, and fortunately the (nice) halter fell off of itself. I have to come up with a way to cure her of that habit! Any ideas??
Overall happy with the evening though. And now I shall close this incredibly long epistle and get ready to ride tomorrow! Hopefully I can catch Rhapsody again and we'll have fewer shenanigans! :)
Ay well I should rather that she be lazy than crazy spooky. Even got out the crop today and she wasn't much worried by it, at least on the shoulder. Behind my leg she was a little nervous but got over it quickly. After half an hour or so of jump practice, we pulled off her tack and I walked and trotted her around the arena bareback. And she was super good. She called a lot to the other horses but wasn't worried by the lack of a saddle at all. Impressive since she's only been ridden bareback once before this (early this past summer).
Then I went off to Rhapsody, who Coach had kept in but hadn't been able to work. She was a crazy nut having been inside all day, but after a long time of Friendly game in the round pen, she calmed down quite a bit. Then I worked a bit on moving off direct pressure--she is super sensitive to that; I hope we can make it a good thing--and bending to a stop. I like to teach all my "babies" to bend to a stop as I'm personally a pretty big fan of the one-rein stop. No, it's not perfect...but it can sure help!
So we did that a while but then kids started running around climbing trees and horses were going out to the fields and Rhapsody lost focus. So I went back to Friendly till she calmed a bit, then took her up to the barn, groomed her, and managed to get her out of the barn without killing anyone. Seriously, I need to come up with some good way to announce to everyone in hearing range that "I'm working with a crazy young horse right now, GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Ha. Maybe running over a couple people once or twice would help? Just kidding, I promise...
After that, Rhapsody was entirely un-calm. So the trip up to the field with Huge Dog (which I've never actually seen but it has a monstrous voice) barking behind the hedge, and the world nearly dark, and hyper pony trying to gallop down the way...was...interesting. But we didn't die nor did we get hurt. Then hyper pony decided to run off before I'd finished taking off the halter, which was also...interesting...however I got the sense to let go before she ripped my arms out, and fortunately the (nice) halter fell off of itself. I have to come up with a way to cure her of that habit! Any ideas??
Overall happy with the evening though. And now I shall close this incredibly long epistle and get ready to ride tomorrow! Hopefully I can catch Rhapsody again and we'll have fewer shenanigans! :)
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Rhapsody Ride #3!
Well I got over on Friday to discover that the Coach had had Rhapsody left in the barn so I didn't have to catch her! Yay!!! So I did get to ride her after all.
Did a bit of groundwork first, just desensitizing to the end of the lead rope, moving off direct pressure, and lungeing. I tried some free lungeing but she got all skittery and worried on me, so we went back to working on the line. After half an hour or so of that I got on and rode for about an hour. Did a lot of trot and a fair bit of canter and some figure-eights and diagonals and big circles at the trot. Overall it went quite well. One incident where Rhapsody spooked majorly at something (still not sure what) and went jumping sideways and spinning round, and I very nearly fell off. However somewhere about the time that the image came to me of myself over to one side with one foot out of the stirrup, I suddenly thought, I ought to grab mane about now! and I did and pulled myself back up where I belonged. Haha! And we kept on trotting till the adrenaline jitters got out of both of us. Fortunately we had no big spooks at canter or I might have fallen off for real. The girl has a pretty big spook when she wants to, and while my seat has gotten immensely more "sticky" since I started riding with the Coach, I'm not fully invincible yet!
In canter though she will kind of bounce to one side or another but it's like she doesn't know how to really spook when she's going well forward. I hope it stays that way. Ha. And today we did get more of an actual canter instead of half a hand gallop, which I appreciated. Her leaning in is getting less pronounced also, thank goodness. Last time I rode her in the small arena I thought I'd end up sitting on her side, she was leaning so much.
Overall a productive ride, I was exhausted by the time we were done though. I'm so horribly out of shape since the incident with my foot, it's not even funny. Hoping to ride again tomorrow but we'll have to see if the weather cooperates!
Did a bit of groundwork first, just desensitizing to the end of the lead rope, moving off direct pressure, and lungeing. I tried some free lungeing but she got all skittery and worried on me, so we went back to working on the line. After half an hour or so of that I got on and rode for about an hour. Did a lot of trot and a fair bit of canter and some figure-eights and diagonals and big circles at the trot. Overall it went quite well. One incident where Rhapsody spooked majorly at something (still not sure what) and went jumping sideways and spinning round, and I very nearly fell off. However somewhere about the time that the image came to me of myself over to one side with one foot out of the stirrup, I suddenly thought, I ought to grab mane about now! and I did and pulled myself back up where I belonged. Haha! And we kept on trotting till the adrenaline jitters got out of both of us. Fortunately we had no big spooks at canter or I might have fallen off for real. The girl has a pretty big spook when she wants to, and while my seat has gotten immensely more "sticky" since I started riding with the Coach, I'm not fully invincible yet!
In canter though she will kind of bounce to one side or another but it's like she doesn't know how to really spook when she's going well forward. I hope it stays that way. Ha. And today we did get more of an actual canter instead of half a hand gallop, which I appreciated. Her leaning in is getting less pronounced also, thank goodness. Last time I rode her in the small arena I thought I'd end up sitting on her side, she was leaning so much.
Overall a productive ride, I was exhausted by the time we were done though. I'm so horribly out of shape since the incident with my foot, it's not even funny. Hoping to ride again tomorrow but we'll have to see if the weather cooperates!
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Paradox Ride
So Friday afternoon I went out, caught Paradox, and went up to the jump arena for some groundwork as they were power-washing the smaller arena and none of the instructors were around yet. Discovered that her groundwork is not so bad as I thought it was; mostly she just needs to learn to move off of lighter signals. Right now I have to give really strong cues before she responds and I don't like that. But it was better than I expected, and I was happy to see that her feet/legs were doing better than they had been on Wednesday. So after a while of groundwork I brought her back down to the barn, put her in a stall, and let her chill out while I went to see Rhapsody.
Rhapsody's session went quite well despite the fact that she jumped away like I'd slapped her the first time I went to scratch her shoulder. But she came back fairly quickly and let me start scratching her neck and chest again by the time I had to leave. We'll get there...I haven't moved the lead rope or halter off my shoulder yet as they're a bit bigger and more overwhelming than just the little rope, but I hope next week I'll be able to start moving them around while I'm rewarding her without freaking her out.
Then I went back down and waited for one of the other instructors to show up. After a while she did, and I tacked up Paradox (Western, as my riding tights were still in the wash!) and headed down to the smaller arena. I had her in the neck stretcher to see how she'd do and was pleasantly surprised. Our goal with her is to begin to teach her to go long and low, and she was stretching down nicely at walk and trot intermittently, and doing decent transitions between the two gaits without flinging her head around or bucking (usually). I did have a few moments of crow-hop-bucky-ness when she decided she wanted to be on the grass in the center of the arena and I told her no. But nothing terrible.
I wanted to canter but by then there were some little kids coming in and I didn't feel comfortable cantering my crow-hopping pony on the inside track (she loves to dive in and lean in), or trusting them to stay out of my way. So I tried a canter in the round pen, but no luck. In the end I got off and lunged her at canter and she went with no bucking, but a dreadful leaning in. Probably why she won't canter in there with me on her--she'd likely fall right over. I see some walk/trot circle and bending practice in our future while we work on canter on the rail!
The other thing we need to work on pronto is moving off my leg. I basically can't steer her without using the reins majorly; she is absolutely clueless about responding to leg pressure. We ended with a walk on the buckle in the round pen while I worked on getting her to respond a bit to weight/seat/leg cues. We wandered around kind of like we were drunk, but she did eventually respond to my request to stop although I think part of it was because she wanted to eat!
Well we will see how this goes. I'm learning a great amount, if nothing else. :)
Rhapsody's session went quite well despite the fact that she jumped away like I'd slapped her the first time I went to scratch her shoulder. But she came back fairly quickly and let me start scratching her neck and chest again by the time I had to leave. We'll get there...I haven't moved the lead rope or halter off my shoulder yet as they're a bit bigger and more overwhelming than just the little rope, but I hope next week I'll be able to start moving them around while I'm rewarding her without freaking her out.
Then I went back down and waited for one of the other instructors to show up. After a while she did, and I tacked up Paradox (Western, as my riding tights were still in the wash!) and headed down to the smaller arena. I had her in the neck stretcher to see how she'd do and was pleasantly surprised. Our goal with her is to begin to teach her to go long and low, and she was stretching down nicely at walk and trot intermittently, and doing decent transitions between the two gaits without flinging her head around or bucking (usually). I did have a few moments of crow-hop-bucky-ness when she decided she wanted to be on the grass in the center of the arena and I told her no. But nothing terrible.
I wanted to canter but by then there were some little kids coming in and I didn't feel comfortable cantering my crow-hopping pony on the inside track (she loves to dive in and lean in), or trusting them to stay out of my way. So I tried a canter in the round pen, but no luck. In the end I got off and lunged her at canter and she went with no bucking, but a dreadful leaning in. Probably why she won't canter in there with me on her--she'd likely fall right over. I see some walk/trot circle and bending practice in our future while we work on canter on the rail!
The other thing we need to work on pronto is moving off my leg. I basically can't steer her without using the reins majorly; she is absolutely clueless about responding to leg pressure. We ended with a walk on the buckle in the round pen while I worked on getting her to respond a bit to weight/seat/leg cues. We wandered around kind of like we were drunk, but she did eventually respond to my request to stop although I think part of it was because she wanted to eat!
Well we will see how this goes. I'm learning a great amount, if nothing else. :)
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Groundwork Reflections: Fringe
After my time with Rhapsody on Friday I went out to see what other havoc I could create with the ponies. ;) Since most everyone else and their horses were over getting ready for a show on Saturday, and/or horses were resting after chiropractor/farrier visits, I decided to go catch the Fringe for some groundwork. If I must be honest I am dying to ride her bareback (yes, I am crazy), but decided to leave that for another day. ;)
Fringe was very eager to get going, unusual for her. In fact when I picked up the halter to put it on her, she shoved her nose right into it--she has never done that before and has always been something of a lazy girl (except when she's trying to bolt to kingdom come) so I was delighted!
We went to the barn, I groomed her lightly, and we went down to do groundwork in the round pen. Though other people ride her occasionally, nobody else does groundwork with her, so I always have to do a bit of a "refresher course" when we get started again. She did very nicely on most everything but I can begin to see where my inexperience has caused some problems. She needs extra work on a couple basic areas--mostly moving off rhythmic "air" pressure--before we can do much more. I tried doing some very basic lateral groundwork but she got utterly confused and unhappy, so I pulled back and we went over a little jump on-line instead. Overall though I was very happy with her attitude and it left me very happy. :) A nice session and things to work on for next time.
Fringe was very eager to get going, unusual for her. In fact when I picked up the halter to put it on her, she shoved her nose right into it--she has never done that before and has always been something of a lazy girl (except when she's trying to bolt to kingdom come) so I was delighted!
We went to the barn, I groomed her lightly, and we went down to do groundwork in the round pen. Though other people ride her occasionally, nobody else does groundwork with her, so I always have to do a bit of a "refresher course" when we get started again. She did very nicely on most everything but I can begin to see where my inexperience has caused some problems. She needs extra work on a couple basic areas--mostly moving off rhythmic "air" pressure--before we can do much more. I tried doing some very basic lateral groundwork but she got utterly confused and unhappy, so I pulled back and we went over a little jump on-line instead. Overall though I was very happy with her attitude and it left me very happy. :) A nice session and things to work on for next time.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Cogitations on Rhapsody
I'm planning on going out tomorrow for a bit of groundwork time before the team riders come in to get ready for their show on Saturday, and therefore trying to figure out what to do with Rhapsody.
I like her. I really do. She is cute and curious and I think she's got a bit of a playful streak too. But lands I do not know how to catch her.
And maybe that's the problem. I'm thinking I want to catch her enough that it might seem to be chasing/predatory to her. Maybe? When we were just playing in the field with non-demanding time and carrots and scratches, when I wasn't expecting to catch her, she did fine; in fact she did more than fine, she did fantastic. The exact moment I started thinking If I just do this a bit more, I'll be able to catch her, was the moment she started pulling away. Then of course last week I went out there intending to catch her and it was a royal disaster.
I don't know how this will end up. I feel very foolish being able to walk up to a horse in the pasture, pet her all over, toss the rope all over her, but not be able to catch her. But I feel even more foolish barely being able to get within arm's length of that same horse for no obvious reason whatsoever. And after all, it is groundwork she needs, and if I can do that in the pasture same as in the round pen, what difference does it make?
Well I will try to not try. I'm going to focus on making this fun, just play, getting acquainted, like it is, after all, supposed to be. We shall see how it goes!
I like her. I really do. She is cute and curious and I think she's got a bit of a playful streak too. But lands I do not know how to catch her.
And maybe that's the problem. I'm thinking I want to catch her enough that it might seem to be chasing/predatory to her. Maybe? When we were just playing in the field with non-demanding time and carrots and scratches, when I wasn't expecting to catch her, she did fine; in fact she did more than fine, she did fantastic. The exact moment I started thinking If I just do this a bit more, I'll be able to catch her, was the moment she started pulling away. Then of course last week I went out there intending to catch her and it was a royal disaster.
I don't know how this will end up. I feel very foolish being able to walk up to a horse in the pasture, pet her all over, toss the rope all over her, but not be able to catch her. But I feel even more foolish barely being able to get within arm's length of that same horse for no obvious reason whatsoever. And after all, it is groundwork she needs, and if I can do that in the pasture same as in the round pen, what difference does it make?
Well I will try to not try. I'm going to focus on making this fun, just play, getting acquainted, like it is, after all, supposed to be. We shall see how it goes!
Friday, September 7, 2012
Sometimes We Step Back...
So I went out allll the way to the back of the mare pasture today to find Rhapsody. And it started marvelously. I had the little rope and she trotted right up for a carrot and a scratch; then I started where we left off, but was able to move a lot faster as she easily accepted the rope all the way up her neck to her poll on both sides. So I took the end and looped it over top of her neck and rubbed it up there, slid it off, tossed it gently up and rubbed some more, and again she was fantastic, relaxed and easy going. Needless to say I piled on the scratches and carrots and was thoroughly happy.
Then something happened. I have thought and still can't figure out what it was, but suddenly she was not interested any more. She came up several times for carrots and scratches, but when I started working with the rope again, she'd move off. Not spooky any more, and not skittish; just kind of a "I don't want to play that game." In fact the one time that I accidentally popped her with the end of the rope and she spooked and jumped off, she came back almost immediately. So being quite exhausted from the week and not wanting to fight any "battles" just on general principles, I settled for asking her to let me approach her softly for a carrot treat (actually rather a big deal for her, she prefers to make the choice to come up herself rather than have me approach her), and made my way off. Next week I shall have an alternate plan if I need it.
I found Fringe afterwards and got a bit of a walk-trot ride in--no canter as she is still sore on the footing and the grass center of the little arena is really too small to canter well in. She was nice in walk-trot though, and afterwards we did a bit of groundwork at liberty before going up, getting cleaned off--well, getting her cleaned off, don't know about me--and scrubbing the mud fever on her pasterns. It's really sad we get mud fever in the summer here, that's all I have to say!
Then something happened. I have thought and still can't figure out what it was, but suddenly she was not interested any more. She came up several times for carrots and scratches, but when I started working with the rope again, she'd move off. Not spooky any more, and not skittish; just kind of a "I don't want to play that game." In fact the one time that I accidentally popped her with the end of the rope and she spooked and jumped off, she came back almost immediately. So being quite exhausted from the week and not wanting to fight any "battles" just on general principles, I settled for asking her to let me approach her softly for a carrot treat (actually rather a big deal for her, she prefers to make the choice to come up herself rather than have me approach her), and made my way off. Next week I shall have an alternate plan if I need it.
I found Fringe afterwards and got a bit of a walk-trot ride in--no canter as she is still sore on the footing and the grass center of the little arena is really too small to canter well in. She was nice in walk-trot though, and afterwards we did a bit of groundwork at liberty before going up, getting cleaned off--well, getting her cleaned off, don't know about me--and scrubbing the mud fever on her pasterns. It's really sad we get mud fever in the summer here, that's all I have to say!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
I Got Pictures!
Sooo at long last the Brother (and the Father and the Grandparents) all came over to the barn with mwah on Friday and courtesy of the Brother I got like almost 300 pictures of myself. And the horses.
It was awesome. Although now that I actually see myself doing the things the Coach has been reminding me not to do for ages, I cringe and want to go hide my head. Hey maybe this will remind me to be good. :)
First we did groundwork with the Fringey and that went fine except she was very sore so we did just enough for me to see that she was sore even on the grass, and then we stopped. Hmm so I give you these pictures of that...
Then I had intended to work with Rusty but wanted to just do groundwork with him and since the Grandparents were there I thought maybe I should get a horse to actually ride. So after some consultation I went and got the Coach's horse, Wild. He is a 4-5 year old Mustang and she started him and has brought him along. He's super nice, rather squirrelly when he wants to be, and lots of fun. Since by definition I had four spotters, I decided I could jump without feeling too dangerous.
These photos were the most revealing. :-/ Annnd I look like a 12-year-old, which is amusing. :)
It was awesome. Although now that I actually see myself doing the things the Coach has been reminding me not to do for ages, I cringe and want to go hide my head. Hey maybe this will remind me to be good. :)
First we did groundwork with the Fringey and that went fine except she was very sore so we did just enough for me to see that she was sore even on the grass, and then we stopped. Hmm so I give you these pictures of that...
These photos were the most revealing. :-/ Annnd I look like a 12-year-old, which is amusing. :)
Legs too far forward
Looking down, not bending elbows, didn't get this headset nearly enough
Leaning forward, not sitting up, can we say not relaxed horse?!
Motorcycle-style corners
This is off the little jump in the background and not too bad for once though my back could be straighter.
Holding too tight
:D Well it is good to see your faults, one in particular I couldn't stand to look at and deleted. Lol. However we did have some good points. For one, my heels are usually down now! For another, I didn't get left behind at all which is great, although we didn't have any bigger jumps I tend to get left behind instead of falling forward if I'm not "with it." And another, we didn't have any super-squirrelly-ness, which means I was generally looking up and riding forward. So I'm happy.
I'm not happy that my summer class tomorrow means that I will be sitting inside re-learning algebra when I could be out with the Coach having a lesson and helping her ride a horse afterwards. But college is necessary. Sadly. Lol.
But I am happy I shall indeed have a lesson tomorrow even if it's not the one I'd hoped for! :)
Friday, July 6, 2012
Coming In
She's coming to me!
Okay that is the exciting thing from today's groundwork session, that and the Triumph Over the Evil Tractor, which I shall write about later. :) The Fringey does not really like to come in to people's space. Which is nice because she's never running all over you. But even when you ask. . . she never comes; just stands there and looks at you. Seems to reflect a bit of her insecurity about people in general. Today we were doing some free lungeing/circling game at liberty down at the round pen and I had asked her to stop and turn in; however she only about half turned and was being somewhat stubborn, and me having left my lunge whip in the center of the arena (forgetful as usual), I couldn't push her rear out without physically nudging her over which I didn't want to do at the moment. So I decide to try this over again and turn around to head back for the whip. And what does she do but fall in and start following me to the center! Whoa, wait, forget whip! Good horse!
Lol, strange things happen from mistakes. She came in several times thereafter, usually not all the way (unless I turned and walked away and simultaneously clucked at her. Guess she gets that that means "move." We'll try and phase it out so she understands the body language as well), but it doesn't matter as on Tuesday she wouldn't come in to either me or the Coach, and today she is coming.
Plus yes, we saw the Evil Tractor, which had not only its tractor-ie self, but also its forklift attachment raised way up high, and a trailer; and with some walking around, looking at the tractor, turning to see an escape route, and general practice being calm, we learned that said Tractor just drives on by and doesn't do anything dangerous. Without any bolting or craziness. Very productive 45 minutes, altogether. :) And now we are cleared to canter, officially!
Okay that is the exciting thing from today's groundwork session, that and the Triumph Over the Evil Tractor, which I shall write about later. :) The Fringey does not really like to come in to people's space. Which is nice because she's never running all over you. But even when you ask. . . she never comes; just stands there and looks at you. Seems to reflect a bit of her insecurity about people in general. Today we were doing some free lungeing/circling game at liberty down at the round pen and I had asked her to stop and turn in; however she only about half turned and was being somewhat stubborn, and me having left my lunge whip in the center of the arena (forgetful as usual), I couldn't push her rear out without physically nudging her over which I didn't want to do at the moment. So I decide to try this over again and turn around to head back for the whip. And what does she do but fall in and start following me to the center! Whoa, wait, forget whip! Good horse!
Lol, strange things happen from mistakes. She came in several times thereafter, usually not all the way (unless I turned and walked away and simultaneously clucked at her. Guess she gets that that means "move." We'll try and phase it out so she understands the body language as well), but it doesn't matter as on Tuesday she wouldn't come in to either me or the Coach, and today she is coming.
Plus yes, we saw the Evil Tractor, which had not only its tractor-ie self, but also its forklift attachment raised way up high, and a trailer; and with some walking around, looking at the tractor, turning to see an escape route, and general practice being calm, we learned that said Tractor just drives on by and doesn't do anything dangerous. Without any bolting or craziness. Very productive 45 minutes, altogether. :) And now we are cleared to canter, officially!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Fringe 3rd Lesson
Well when they say Firefox isn't supported by Blogger any more, they mean it; now it's doing all sorts of crazy things to me and of course, the "only" fix is to try Google Chrome. Trying to get a monopoly on me much??
Groundwork and riding this morning bright and early and Fringe's foot soreness is disappearing! YAY! We could trot on the gravel footing today without getting lame and that is quite good news! So we went in the round pen and I learned how to do Circling Game appropriately, plus a bit of Yo-Yo, and we worked some at-liberty-more-or-less (meaning were not brave enough to take off the halter altogether!). Tacked up untied too, which is something of a challenge as Fringe usually gets a little edgy when it comes time to saddle up. But she did quite well. Then off to walk-trot mounted and went nicely. Practiced over some trot poles and worked on the basics of lengthening/shortening stride (mostly meaning speeding up/slowing down as we don't have the skills yet to truly lengthen and shorten strides). And we have the promise from Coach that around next lesson, barring something going wrong, we should be able to canter!
On other news, first real spook today. We were having a little cool-down walk/trot around the outside of the (outdoor) arena and all the mares came running in from the field. Well Fringe thought that was a little strange but I was just thinking she was just going to keep going and looking at them sideways and all big-eyed when whoof she was off! Lol. Not very far though and after bringing her back she did mostly settle down. It was a good experience though as she has steadfastly refused to spook for me so far and Coach wanted me to feel it.
Hopefully I'll get over there again on Friday. It's so hot these days, I can't really go after work on other days, but I get off at noon on Friday, so try to make it to the barn. :) Happy Fourth to U.S. people and Happy Canada Day (late) to our northern neighbors!
Groundwork and riding this morning bright and early and Fringe's foot soreness is disappearing! YAY! We could trot on the gravel footing today without getting lame and that is quite good news! So we went in the round pen and I learned how to do Circling Game appropriately, plus a bit of Yo-Yo, and we worked some at-liberty-more-or-less (meaning were not brave enough to take off the halter altogether!). Tacked up untied too, which is something of a challenge as Fringe usually gets a little edgy when it comes time to saddle up. But she did quite well. Then off to walk-trot mounted and went nicely. Practiced over some trot poles and worked on the basics of lengthening/shortening stride (mostly meaning speeding up/slowing down as we don't have the skills yet to truly lengthen and shorten strides). And we have the promise from Coach that around next lesson, barring something going wrong, we should be able to canter!
On other news, first real spook today. We were having a little cool-down walk/trot around the outside of the (outdoor) arena and all the mares came running in from the field. Well Fringe thought that was a little strange but I was just thinking she was just going to keep going and looking at them sideways and all big-eyed when whoof she was off! Lol. Not very far though and after bringing her back she did mostly settle down. It was a good experience though as she has steadfastly refused to spook for me so far and Coach wanted me to feel it.
Hopefully I'll get over there again on Friday. It's so hot these days, I can't really go after work on other days, but I get off at noon on Friday, so try to make it to the barn. :) Happy Fourth to U.S. people and Happy Canada Day (late) to our northern neighbors!
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